Looper clip chaining machine



June 14, 1955 Filed Dec. 5, 1954 R. C. PRICE LOOPER CLIP CHAININGMACHINE 8 Sheefi-Sheet l INVENTOR Roy 0. Price BY 67 m,

ATTORNEYS R. C. PRICE LOOPER CLIP CHAINING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 iledDec. 3, 1954 I nshg NdE INVENTQR y 6. Pnce ATTORNEY5 June 14, 1955 R. c.PRICE LOOPER CLIP CHAINING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 3, 1954INVENTOR Roy C. Price BY 6/ 0 flaw W fi ATTORNEYS June 14, 1955 R. c.PRICE LOOPER CLIP CHAINING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 5, 1954'limllml I! I IIIIIT 6 e 0." M M I w R M 5 M a O W 8 a m g w m .M mm 6 Tw Y I B a I u u 5 1 mm m H o w L m? mm a ATTORNEYS June 14, 1955 FiledDec. 5, 1954 R. C. PRICE LOOPER CLIP CHAINING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VENTQR Ray C, Price ATTORNEYS June 14, 1955 R. c. PRICE 2,710,439

LOOPER CLIP CHAINING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1954 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR Roy 0. Price ATTORNEYS June 14, 1955 R. c. PRICE 2,710,439

LOOPER CLIP CHAINING MACHINE Filed Dec. 3, 1954 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 1NVENTOR Z n? d. l y/c5;

ATTORNEYS June 14, 1955 R. c. PRICE LOOPER CLIP CHAINING MACHINE 8Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Dec. 3, 1954 ql lllllrlllllll'llk WW M w W 5M.

ATTORN E Y8 Unite StatesPatent Cfilice 2,710,439 .Patented June 14, 1955This invention relates to apparatus for knotting closed loops ofnon-rigid material together, and, more particularly, to a machine forautomatically knotting closed loops of textile material into a chain.

In the operation of forming socks in a hosiery mill, when the toe of thesock is looped, a small piece of waste material is cut off from the toeof the sock and discarded. The waste material is ring-shaped and ofrelatively small width. It is called a looper clip and, less often, alooper noodle. Oftentimes these looper clips are destroyed, but it hasbeen proposed that the loops wasted in making a number of socks beknotted together into chains which can subsequently be employed to formthe wefts of rugs.

In the past, the knotting operation of these looper clips to form chainsthereof has been performed by hand, a laborious, monotonous anduneconomical practice. The apparatus of the present invention isdesigned to perform the knotting operation automatically by machine, andso improve the efficiency and economy of the operation, as well asfreeing manpower for other tasks.

it will be understood that the apparatus herein disclosed could beutilized to knot closed loops of any nonrigid material together, but itis particularly adapted to forming chains of looper clips and will,accordingly, be described particularly for that operation.

The apparatus of the present invention comprises, generally, a carrierfor a plurality of separate looper clips movable automatically to aknotting station, and a knotting device for automatically knotting eachsuccessive clip from the carrier as it passes the knotting station tothe last clip of a cable retained at the knotting station. The knottingdevice includues an upper looper operative initially to hold the rearend of the last clip of the chain, then to overlap the last clip with aelip on the carrier when that clip reaches the knotting station, and alower looper for finishing tying the knot in the two clips,'-whereuponthe upper looper picks up the rear end. of the new last clip of thechain and holds it for a new kuotting operation with the next clip onthe carrier. The apparatus further includes means for moving the upperand lower looper and for appropriately timing the movements thereof.

The apparatus of the present invention will be more fully described incooperation'with accompanying: drawings, showing a preferred embodimentof the apparatus.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a. perspective view of the apparatus of the present inventionlooking at the apparatus from the rear and one side thereof;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view taken from the opposite side of theapparatus;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the apparatus of Fig. 2, taken fromthe forward end thereof;

Fig. 5 is an end elevational view taken from the rear end of theapparatus;

Fig. 6 is an exploded view showing the individual parts of theapparatus;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Fig. 3 showing .theapparatus in the first position of its cycle of operation;

Fig. 9 is a partial view similar to Fig. 8, showing the apparatus in thesecond position of its cycle, and,

Figs. 10-14 are views of portions of the apparatus and loops of Fig. 9,showing the positions of the various parts and the loops during furthersteps of the operation effected with the machine.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the apparatus of the present inventioncomprises generally a base 1, a supporting and carrying means for theloops to be added to a chain,

'5 identified at 2, an upper looper mechanism 3 for supporting the lastloop of the chain to which the other loops are to be knotted, and thelower looper mechanism 4 which is operative to cooperate with thecarrying means 2 and the upper looper mechanism 3 to knot additionalloops successively carried by the carrying mechanism to the last loop ofthe chain. The apparatus additionally includes means for moving thecarrying means and for synchronizing motions of the upper loopermechanism and lower looper mechanism with the carrying means, to bedescribed hereinafter.

The base 1 includes a pair of vertical sidewalls 10 and 11, secured attheir lower ends to a bottom member 12, which acts as the support forthe base. The side walls 10 and 11 may be of Bakelite to eliminate theneed for special bearings for the several shafts journalled in the sidewalls.

The main drive shaft 13 is journalled in side walls 10 and 11 at theforward end of the apparatus. a large pulley 14 fixed to the shaft, bywhich it may be driven from some suitable source of rotary power, not

shown. A second pulley 15, also fixed on shaft 13, may be utilized todrive an auxiliary apparatus, not shown or described herein.

The main drive shaft also carries a pair of sprockets 16 and 17, whichdrive endless chains 18 and 19, respectively, the latter forming partsof the supporting and carrying means 2 for the loops to be knotted tothe chain. The rear sections of the chains cooperate with sprockets 20and 21, respectively, mounted on a cross shaft 22 which is journalled inside walls 10 and 11.

The loop supporting and carrying means 2 comprises, in addition to thesprockets and endless chains, a set of spaced pins 25 mounted on thechains 18 and 19 and extending at right angles with respect to thechain. The pins are designed so that a loop may be placed on any set offour of the pins to form substantially a square outlined by the pins.Motion of the chains imparted thereto by means of the main drive shaftand the sprockets then causes movement of loops mounted on such pinstoward the upper looper mechanism 3. One such the base, together withsupporting means for supporting.

the upper looper pins above the base for movement toward and away fromthe .base and movement forward and back with respect to the base. Thepins of the upper looper are designed to support the last loop or Itcarries wardly from the support block 31 with respect to the directionof movement of chains 18 and 19.

Supporting block 31 is attached at its upper end to an upper looperslide member 32 which extends substantially at right angles to block 31.The upper looper slide member 32 slides forwardly and rearwardly withrespect to the direction of movement of chains 18 and 19 along rods 33,whose rearward portions pass through slots in the slide member and whoseforward portions are fixed in parallel rod holder 35. Rod holder 35 isfixed to a sub stantially vertically-extending upper looper back stand36, which, in turn, is mounted on side walls and 11 by means of hinges37 and 38, respectively.

An adjustable strap member 40 has its upper end fixed to the parallelrod holder 35, and has its lower end bolted to a rack lever 41 at oneend thereof, the other end of the rack lever being bolted at 42 to sidewall 11. The forward end of the rack lever 41 cooperates with thecamming surfaces of a double cam 43 mounted on main drive shaft 13 forrotation therewith. ous that the double cam cooperates with theadjustable strap and the rack lever to furnish an upward and downwardmovement of the upper looper pins twice during one rotation of theshaft, corresponding to one cycle of operation of the apparatus.

The parallel rod holder also supports at its forward end a downwardlyextending looper chain guide 45 which is designed to hold the chain oflooper clips up out of the way of the apparatus after they have beenknotted into the chain.

The apparatus now to be described is designed to provide the upperlooper pins 30 with a forward and rearward movement, with respect to thedirection of movement of the looper clips mounted on chains 18 and 19.That apparatus includes a pair of back connecting straps and 51, boltedat their lower ends to the sides of bottom wall 12. At their upper ends,back straps 50 and 51 are connected together by a cross rod 52, andcross rod 52 also supports a pair of rearwardly extending top connectingstraps 63 and 64. The rearward ends of the top connecting straps 63 and64 are bolted to opposite ends of a stepblock 65, which is in turnbolted to the upper side of slide member 32.

Straps 50 and 51 also carry between their ends a laterally-extendingstud block 70, which in turn carries an adjustable holder 71, the lattersupporting a ball bearing 72. Ball bearing 72 cooperates with a cam 73mounted for rotation with the main drive shaft 13, and having a singlecamming surface for causing movement forward and rearwardly of the upperlooper pins once during each rotation of the drive shaft, and hence onceduring a complete cycle of the apparatus.

It will be obvious that with the apparatus so far described, upperlooper pins 30 are given a forward and rearward movement once during acycle of the apparatus, and the pins are given an upward and downwardmove ment twice during a complete cycle of the apparatus. This cyclewill be more fully described hereinafter.

Back straps 50 and 51 are resiliently supported be tween their ends bysprings 75 and 76, respectively, the

springs being connected at one end to the respective strap Iand at theother end to the respective side wall of the ase.

The lower looper mechanism 4 comprises generallya pair of bifurcatedlower looper prong members 78 and 79 extending substantially parallel tothe sides 10 and 11 of the base, and having their rear ends urged towardeach other by a spring 80. The prong members each have upwardly andrearwardly-extending hook portions 81 and 82, respectively, for apurpose to be described. A pair of U-shaped strap members 83 and 84 havetheir upper ends attached to the rearward ends of lower loopers 78 and79, respectively, and have their lower ends mounted on avertically-extending lower looper stand 85.

It will be obvi- Lower looper stand 85 is mounted at its lower end on alower looper slide 86 which is designed to move for-' wardly andrearwardly with respect to the bottom wall 12 of the base, and issupported thereon. A pair of forwardly and rearwardly extending bracemembers 87 may be mounted on walls 10 and 11 above slide member 86 torestrain the slide member against upward movement.

In order to impart forward and rearward movement to slide member 86, alower looper pitman rod 88 is provided. The rearward end of the pitmanrod is fixed in a notch 89 in the upper portion of a slot 90 formed inlower looper stand 85. The forward end of pitman rod 88 is attached tothe distal end of a crank the crank being mounted for rotation on across shaft 96. A lower looper gear 97 is mounted on the outward side ofcross-shaft 96 and meshes with a skip gear 98 mounted on main driveshaft 13 for rotation therewith and having teeth on one quarter of itscircumference. When skip gear 98 turns through one complete revolution,it turns lower looper gear 97 one revolution thereof, thus, through thecrank member 95 and pitman rod 88, moving the lower looper slide member86 forwardly and rearwardly once during each revolution of the maindrive shaft.

A pawl 100 is provided to lock lower looper gear 97 except during theportion of the cycle in which it is permitted to rotate to move thelower looper slide. Pawl 100 is bolted at its lower end to side wall 10of the base, and has adjacent the lower portion of its upper end a pinwhich fits in a recess in the journal of lower looper gear 97. Skip gear98 is provided with a pin 101 extending outwardly therefrom and adaptedto kick the upper end of pawl 100 just as the gear teeth of the skipgear approach the teeth of lower looper gear 97, thus releasing thelower looper gear for rotation with the skip gear.

The lower looper prong members 78 and 79 must be provided with an upwardand downward movement of their surfaces once during each cycle ofoperation of the apparatus, for a purpose to be explained hereinafter.In order to accomplish this result, a cam 105 is provided with a singlefiat surface and is mounted adjacent the lower surfaces of the lowerloopers on a cross-shaft 106. Cross-shaft 106 also carries at its outerend a sprocket wheel 107, which is driven by a chain 108. Chain 108 isendless and is driven by a second sprocket wheel 109 mounted on shaft96. A roller 110 is mounted on a shaft 111 journalled in side wall 10 ofthe base, and po= sitioned adjacent chain 108 to hold the upper reach ofthe chain down.

During operation of the lower looper prongs in a cycle of the apparatus,it is necessary that the lower looper prongs be moved toward each otherand later away from each other once in each cycle of the apparatus. Toprovide for this effect, a pair of push pins 115 and 116 are providedand journalled in side walls 10 and 11, respectively. The inner end ofeach of these push pinsbears against the outer surface of thecorresponding lower looper prong member, 78 and 79, respectively. Theouter ends of the push pins bear against screws carried by the forwardends of lower looper cam levers- 117 and 118, respectively. The rearends of cam levers 117 and 118 lie against lower looper cams 119 and120, respectively, mounted for rotation with a cross-shaft 121. Leafspring members 122 and 123 each have one of their ends mounted on therespective side walls 10 and 11, and

' their other ends fixed to the respective lower looper cam lever 117and 118, so that the forward ends of the cam levers areurged away fromeach other, to permit the lower loopers 78 and 79 to move away from eachother. Shaft 121 has a sprocket 125 mounted on its outer end and adaptedto be driven by a chain 126. Chain 126 is endless and is driven by asprocket 127 mounted for rotation with main drive shaft13.

As a result of this camming mechanism described immediately hereinabove,the lower loopers 78 and 79 have their forward ends moved toward andaway from each other once during 'eachicycle of'the apparatus. Themovement toward each other of the lower loopers is opposed by springs80,122 and 123. Lower looper cam levers 117 and 118 are mounted on camlever brackets 130 and 131, respectively, which are in turn lrjnountedon side walls 10 and 11, respectively, of the ase.

The lower loopers 78 and 79 are supposed to be moved toward one anotherand held there during forward move-- ment of the lower looper slide 86.In order to assist in holding the lower loopers together while they arein the forward portion of their travel, a pair of lower looper guides135 and 136 are provided, these being mounted on side walls 10 and 11,respectively, and having forward and inwardly extending portions toforce the lower loopers toward each other when they are moved forwardlybetween the guides. Members 140 and 141 are also provided, for a dualpurpose. The rear ends of these members constitute a guard for chains 18and 19, and the forward ends thereof extend inwardly and upwardly toprovide a surface to strip the rear end of a looper clip off carryingpins 25 when the clip has reached the forward ends of these members.

In order to hold the loops or clips mounted on the pins 25 downwardlyduring the knotting operation, looper clip guides 145 and 146 areprovided and are mounted on the upper surfaces of Walls 10 and 11,respectively. The innermost and lowermost surfaces of these guidesextend from the rear thereof forwardly and downwardly, and the insidefront surface thereof has its edge formed as an arc of a circle, so asto prevent a looper clip from flying backwardly, once the clip has beenknotted to the chain.

In order to make perfectly clear the cooperation of the portions of theapparatus hereinabove described, one complete cycle of the apparatus inknotting a clip to the last looper clip of a chain thereof will now bedescribed.

The cycle of operations will be described in conjunction with Figs.8-14, showing the positions of the various operating parts of themachine during a cycle. As the cycle begins, shaft 13 is in a positionsuch that double cam 43 has one of its raised faces contacting theroller bearing on the lower side of cam lever 41 (see Fig. 7 forillustration of these parts). Consequently, upper looper slide member 32is in its upper position, as shown in Fig. 8, and the upper looper pinsare held above plus 25 carrying looper clip 26. The lower looper prongmembers '78 and 79 are in their rearward and lower positions, and theupper looper pins 30 are in their rearward positions, corresponding tothe positions of roller 72 and cam 73 in Fig. 8.

From these positions at the beginning of cycle, the following changestake place, going now to the position of Fig. 9.: as the shaft 13rotates (counterclockwise, as

shown by the arrow in Fig. 9) chains 18 and 19 move forwardly, carryingpins 25 and looper clip 26 along with them. The raised portion of cam 73contacts bearing 72 to move upper looper slide member 32, and henceupper looper pins 30, forwardly with carrier pins 25; when the upperlooper pins have reached their foremost position, the pins stop movementmomentarily while the carrier pins continue to move forwardly and carrythe forward end of looper clip 26 beyond the upper looper pins. andhence forward of the rear end of the last clip 27 of the chain (theposition of clip 26 shown in'Fig. 9). While this operation is takingplace, the raised portions of cams 119 and 120 (Fig. '1) come intocontact with cam levers 117 and 118 to move lower looper prong members78 and 79 toward each other.

The second stage in the cycle now occurs, causing movements of thevarious parts to the position shown in Fig. 10. Double cam 43 moves tothe position shown in Fig. 7, thus causing the upper looper pins to movedownwardly and carry the rear end of clip 27 with them down below theplane defined by clip 26 to create an strip clip 27 from the upperlooper pins.

6 overlap between the planes defined by clips 26 and At the same time,the toothed segment of gear 98 (Fig. 1) moves into engagement with gear97, causing motion of chain 103 to begin rotation of shaft 106. Cam 105is mounted on shaft 106 and hence moves clockwise to the position shownin Fig. 10, thus moving lower looper prongs 78 and 79 upwardly.

Going nowinto the fourth position of the apparatus, shown in Fig. 11,pitman rod 88 is moved forwardly by rotation of shaft 96 to carry lowerlooper slide member 86 forwardly. This movement causes lower looperprong members 78 and 79 to move forwardly in such manner that the upperprong of each of the prong members moves into the overlap between clips26 and 27, with the rear end of clip 27 in the bight between the prongsof each prong member.

Lower looper prong members 78 and 79 next continue to move forwardly tothe foremost end of their travel, shown in Fig. 12. The forward end ofclip 26 has now been passed by the upper prongs of the prong members.

Now, the prong members begin their rearward travel back to the positionshown in Fig. 13, and carry with them the forward end of clip 26, whichis concurrently stripped from the associated pins 25. At the same time,

3 double cam 43 (Fig. 7) reaches a position such that one of its raisedfaces contacts cam lever 41, causing upper looper pins 30 to moveupwardly away from the lower looper. However, the rear end of clip 27 isnow held by the prong members, so that the prong members Also, earn 105returns to the position with its fiat side against the prong members, sothat the prong members move down to their original positions.

By this time the lower looper prong members have completed their cycleof operation, but the knot between clips 26 and 27 is not quitecomplete. Going now from the position of Fig. 13 to that of Fig. 14,supporting pins 25, now carrying only the rear end of clip 26, move pastupper looper pins 30. Then, double cam 43 again reaches a positioncausing upper looper pins 30 to move downwardly, and they move into aposition just forward of the former forward end of clip 26, now held byhooks 81 and 82 of prong members 78 and 79.

In the last stage of the cycle the apparatus returns 7 to the positionshown in Fig. 8, cam 43 causing upward movement and cam 73 causingrearward movement of upper looper pins 39, simultaneously, so that thepins pick up the former forward end of clip 26 and carry it upwardly tothe location occupied by clip 27 in Fig. 8. 1

The knotting, cycle is now complete and the parts of the apparatus arein position for a new knotting cycle to knot clip 26 in Fig. 14 to therear end of now-knotted clip 26. The operation may be continuousandrapid,

and is obviously automatic.

It is evident that many changes could be made in the apparatusspecifically described without departure from the scope of the presentinvention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered limited bythe embodiment described but only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for knotting one closed loop to another closed loopcomprising means for holding said one 1001), means for holding saidother loop, and means coacting with both said holding means to move theholding means relative to one another and to knot the loops together,said last-mentioned means operating to strip said other loop from itsholding means and position said one loop to be picked up and held bysaid holding means for said other loop, during knotting operation,whereby a third loop may be positioned on said first-mentioned holdingmeans and be knotted to said one loop by a further cycle of operation ofthe apparatus;

2. Apparatus for knotting one closed loop to another closed loopcomprising means initially operative to hold said other loop, means forsupporting said one loop with loop held open, means for moving one ofsaid holding and supporting means to move the associated loop to causethe planes defined by the loops to intersect, means movable between theover-lapping ends of the two loops operative to strip said other loopfrom said first-mentioned means and move the over-lapping end of saidone loop in a direction to knot the loops together, said firstmentionedmeans then being operative to hold said one loop, and means forstripping said one loop from its supporting means.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which said means movable betweenthe over-lapping ends of the two loops is movable in one direction toproject through the aperture defined by said over-lapping ends and ismovable in another direction to move the over-lapping end of said oneloop away from the overlap.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which said movable means stripssaid one loop from its supporting means during its movement in said onedirection and holds the one loop for its movement in said otherdirection, said other direction being reverse to said one direction.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which said movable means comprisesat least one fork having a hook projecting from one of its spaced ends,the overtween the over-lapping ends of the loops to permit said 3last-mentioned means to strip the other loop from the supporting means,then movable downwardly to pick up and hold the one loop after knottingof the loops together.

7. Apparatus for forming a chain of closed loops comprising means forsupporting at least one loop with its loop held open, said means beingmovable substantially continuously in one direction, and knotting meanslocated adjacent the path of movement of said supporting means, saidknotting means being operative to hold another loop with its loop open,then to form a knot between said one loop and said other loop andrelease said other loop, then hold said one loop and release it fromsaid supporting means.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 in which said knotting meanscomprises an upper looper operative initially to hold said other loopand operative later to hold said one loop, and a lower looper operativeto knot the two loops together.

9. Apparatus for forming a chain of closed loops comprising a base, arotating shaft journalled on said base, means for supporting at leastone loop and holding it open, means connecting said shaft to said loopsupporting means to translate rotational movement of said shaft intosubstantially linear movement of said loop supporting means, an upperlooper for holding one spread end of another loop adjacent the path ofmovement of said loop supporting means, cam means rotatable with saidshaft, means cooperable with said cam means and said upper looper tocause the latter to move while holding =1.

said other loop, from a position above said loop-supporting meansdownwardly to move the other loop to overlap said one loop, thenupwardly away from the loops, then downwardly once more to pick up saidone loop, then upwardly once more, during a knotting cycle, a lowerlooper, means connecting said shaft and said lower looper and operativeto convert rotational movement of said shaft into reciprocating linearmovement of said lower looper, said last-named means operating to causemovement of said lower looper in one direction through theoverlapping'ends of said one and said other loops after the upper looperhas moved upwardly, said lower looper operating in said movements tostrip said other loop from the upper looper, and, in its reversemovement, to carry the forward end of said one loop rearwardly withrespect to the direction of travel of said loop supporting means andretain it while the rear end of said one loop moves past the lowerlooper until the upper looper returns downwardly and picks up theforward end of said one loop.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 in which said means connecting saidshaft with said loop supporting means comprises an endless chain, andsaid loop supporting means includes a plurality of spaced pinsprojecting from and carried by said chain.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 in which said means connecting saidshaft with said loop supporting means comprises a pair of spacedsubstantially parallel endless chains, said shaft coacting with saidchains to cause endless movement thereof, and said loop supporting meansincludes a plurality of spaced pins projecting upwardly from and carriedby said chain.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 in which said upper looper comprisesa supporting member, means mounting said supporting member above saidloop supporting means, and a pair of spaced pins carried by saidsupporting member and projecting downwardly toward said loop supportingmeans, said pins being operable to hold said one end of said other loopspread apart.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 12 in which said cam means includes adouble cam mounted on said shaft and said cooperable means includes alever mounted at one end on said base and having its other endcontacting the face of said cam, means connecting the other end of saidlever to said means mounting said supporting member to translatemovement of the other end of the lever upwardly and downwardly inresponse to movement of the cam into movement upwardly and downwardly ofthe upper looper.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 12 in which said cam means includes acam mounted on said shaft and having a pair of rises separated by a pairof lows, and said cooperable means includes lever means connected at oneend to said means mounting said supporting member and at the other endto said base, and a roller connected to said lever means between saidends thereof and riding on said cam.

15. Apparatus defined in claim 9 in which said lower looper comprises apronged bifurcated member, the plane defined by the prongs of saidmember extending at an angle with respect to said loop-supporting means,the upper of said prongs having a hook extending upwardly therefrom,said means connecting said shaft and said lower looper including asupport for said bifurcated member, a crank arm rotatable with saidshaft during at least a portion of a rotation thereof, and meansconnecting the crank arm to said support, said bifurcated member movingforward, with respect to movement of said loop supporting means, whensaid other loop overlaps said one loop, to move the upper prong thereofbetween the overlapped ends of the loops and the lower prong below bothloops, and said hook acting during rearward travel of said hifurcatedmember to hold the forward end of said one loop and carry it therewith.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim 15 in which said lower looper includesanother bifurcated member spaced from said first-mentioned bifurcatedmember and mounted therewith, means urging said bifurcated membersapart, and cam means rotatable with said shaft and cooperable with saidbifurcated members to force them toward each other for movement of themembers between the overlapped ends of the loops.

17. Apparatus defined in claim 9 including means mounted on the base forforcing the rearward end of said one loop off said loop supporting meansafter said rearward end has passed said upper looper.

18. A looper clip chaining machine comprising a base, a. shaftjournalled for rotation on said base, a pair of substantially parallelendless chains mounted on said base for movement with rotation of saidshaft, spaced pins mounted on and projecting outwardly from each of saidchains, each set of four of said pins being operable to support oneopened looper clip, an upper looper comprising a pair of pins, supportmeans for said last-mentioned pins positioned along the path of movementof said chains in such manner that said upper looper pins projectdownwardly in a zone between the planes defined by the chains, and arespaced apart along a line joining said planes, means including camsrotated by said shaft for imparting forward and rearward and downwardand upward movement to the upper looper pins with respect to themovement of said chains, a lower looper comprising a pair of bifurcatedprong members, each of the upper prongs of said members having a hookprojecting upwardly therefrom, means urging said prong members apart,cam means controlled by said shaft for moving said prong members towardeach other, mounting means for said prong members, and means operativeby said shaft for moving said mounting means forward and rearward withrespect to the direction of travel of said chains, the upper looper pinsbeing adapted to carry the rear of a chain of looper clips to whichother clips carried by said pins on said chains are to be successivelyjoined, the above-defined apparatus operating as follows during onecomplete cycle to join one looper clip to the chain: (1) the upperlooper pins carrying the rear end of the last clip of the chain movesforwardly with the chains carrying said one looper clip; (2) the upperlooper pins move downwardly as the forward end of said one clip movespast them and carries the rear end of the last clip down below the planedefined by said one clip and through the loop defined thereby; (3)during the preceding operation the bifurcated prongs of the lower looperare moved toward each other and upward to a position such that theywill. fit in the area of overlap of said last clip and said one clip;(4) the upper looper remains stationary while said lower looper movesforwardly and causes its prongs to project through the area of overlapof the two clips, the rear end of said last clip fitting into the spacebetween the prongs of each bifurcated prong member of the lower looper;(5) the upper looper moves upwardly away from the lower looper while thelower looper moves rearwardly, catching the forward end of said one clipon its prongs, stripping it from the chain pins, and carrying it withitself, and stripping the rear end of said last clip from the upperlooper; (6) the prong members of the lower looper spread apart while therearward end of said one clip is moved by its supporting pins past thelower looper prong members and said forward end of said one clip; (7)the upper looper moves downwardly between the forward and rear ends ofsaid one clip, then moves rearwardly and upwardly to strip the forwardend of said one clip from the lower looper prongs and carry it withitself; and, (8) the rear end of said one clip is stripped from the pinssupporting it.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

